From the shop

On the nights of 13 and 14 March 1941, during the height of the Second World War, the German Luftwaffe bombed Clydebank and Glasgow in an attempt to stop engineering works and production at the shipyards. In Clydebank every street suffered casualties and entire families were killed in collapsing tenement buildings. On the second night a parachuted landmine fell on Kilmun Street in Maryhill, destroying three tenements. This painting depicts the aftermath of that bomb, showing the devastation of lives and homes. The artist Ian Fleming, who worked as a policeman in Glasgow during the war, has recorded the individual heroism of the fire-fighting and rescue units who often worked under impossible circumstances and who frequently risked their lives on the Home Front.

Details

Acc. No.PG 3397

MediumOil on canvas

Size

CreditPurchased with the help of the Patrons of the National Galleries of Scotland, 2004

Ian Fleming (Scottish, 1906 - 1994)

Fleming was born in Glasgow and studied at the Glasgow School of Art. He began printmaking at art school, and Glasgow Art Gallery bought two of his prints while he was still a student. In 1928, Fleming made his first engraving while working with Charles Murray, and he soon became a highly-skilled engraver. While lecturing at the Art School from 1931, Fleming met William Wilson, the Edinburgh-based printmaker and stained glass artist. They became friends, and their work was mutually influential. He also taught Robert Colquhoun and Robert MacBryde during this time and later became Head of Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen. Fleming produced detailed etchings and engravings of Glasgow, the Scottish Highlands and the Continent.